Federal Appeals Court Upholds Florida Ban on Lewd Drag Shows
A federal appeals court upheld Florida's law banning minors from sexually explicit live performances including drag shows, overturning lower court rulings in a victory for child protection advocates.
The legal battle has stretched across three years since a federal judge initially blocked the law following a lawsuit from Orlando-based Hamburger Mary’s Restaurant and Bar, which sought to continue hosting drag shows marketed as suitable for families, according to Breitbart News.
Florida’s 2023 Protection of Children Act specifically defines an adult performance as any show depicting or simulating nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, specific sexual activities, lewd conduct, or the lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts, as Breitbart News reports.
Such drag performances typically feature entertainers in highly sexualized costumes performing provocative dances and at times simulating explicit acts.
The full bench of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 8-5 on Tuesday to overturn both the lower court decision issued by Clinton-appointed Senior District Judge Gregory Presnell in 2023 and a subsequent three-judge panel ruling from last year that had sided with the district court.
U.S. Circuit Judge Andrew Brasher, writing for the majority, stated that the court would not challenge Florida’s legislative judgment on regulating obscenity. Preventing children from attending adult live performances obscene for them is rationally related to Florida’s interest in safeguarding the well-being of minors, the Trump-appointed judge wrote.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier celebrated the ruling as a major win for child protection after years of litigation, praising Solicitor General Dave Dewhirst for his successful arguments defending the state’s position.
Florida now joins Arkansas, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas as the fifth state actively prohibiting minors from attending adult live performances. Meanwhile, the Ninth Circuit upheld a block on Montana’s similar ban on drag story hours in March as a First Amendment challenge continues.
The majority opinion emphasized that Florida’s legislation targets drag shows deemed obscene for children, not all drag performances broadly. However, dissenting judges argued the state deliberately crafted what they characterized as an intimidation statute designed to suppress drag events.
U.S. Circuit Judge Robin Rosenbaum, an Obama appointee, wrote in her dissent joined by four colleagues that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had explicitly described the law as targeting adult performances such as drag shows. State Representative Randy Fine, the law’s primary sponsor, similarly stated the statute would safeguard children by eliminating what he called gateway propaganda including Drag Queen Story Time events.
The Florida statute establishes penalties making it a misdemeanor to knowingly admit a child to any live performance deemed offensive under the law’s obscenity standards. Violations carry potential sentences of up to one year in jail and fines reaching $10,000.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs contended the law’s definitions of lewdness were unconstitutionally vague while characterizing the legislation as having massive chilling effects on protected speech.
Judge Brasher countered in the majority opinion that constitutional protections cover speech but not obscenity. He noted it was difficult to conceive of any sex-based performance predominantly appealing to prurient interests as appropriate for children of any age.
The majority further referenced Florida Supreme Court precedent defining lewdness as gross indecency regarding sexual relations and the unlawful indulgence of lust representing a form of immorality connected to sexual impurity.
The Liberty Counsel, a legal advocacy organization focused on First Amendment and religious liberty issues, filed an amicus brief supporting Florida’s law in the case.
Mat Staver, founder of the Liberty Counsel, said the full appeals court ruling reinforced longstanding principles protecting children from obscenity. He stated the court correctly determined that states possess a compelling interest in shielding children from obscene content within constitutional boundaries.
With information from Breitbart News
